Sheep foot tamper



March 2, 1943. J, Low v 2,312,471

I sg EP. FOOT TAMPER Filed Aug. 3, 1940 Patented Mar. 2, 1943 UNITEDSTATES PATENT. OFFICE SHEEP FOOT TAMPER John J. Low, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application August 3, 1940, Serial No. 350,453

3 Claims.

My invention relates to tampers of the sheep foot type as used ontamping rollers for compacting the ground in the building of roads andthe like. Such tampers comprise a foot and a shank and are usuallyformed of cast metal in a single piece with the'shank secured to theperiphery of a cylindrical roller by a weld joint. The tampers areapplied to the roller in circumferential and longitudinal rows so as tostud the roller with a multiplicity of the tampers and with such anarrangement that the feet of the tampers leave an unbroken tread-mark inthe surface of the ground being tamped.

Continued use of the tampers on the roller cause the feet thereof tobecome excessively worn or otherwise damaged, and thus requirereplacement. Where each tamper is cast in a single piece the time, thedifficulty and expense involved in replacing the tamper will beappreciated.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide a sheep foot tamper which isso constructed that the foot thereof is removably mounted on theremainder of the tamper or that portion which is permanently secured tothe roller, whereby the foot may, when necessary, be readily removed andreplaced without the necessity of disturbing the welded joint orperforming Welding operations or the use of any special tools orfastening means.

Where the feet of the tampers are demountable as set forth, it isnecessary, particularly where each foot is elongated as in my invention,that they be mounted on the roller so that all of the feet of any onecircumferential row extend lengthwise circumferentially of the rollerand that they be uniformly spaced from those ofan adjacent row in orderto accommodate between the rows an implement for removing accumulatedearth from the feet under rotative movement of the roller.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide in a sheep foot .tamperhaving a demountable foot, means by which the foot may be mounted on theroller only in such a position that it is alined longitudinally with thefeet of adjacent tampers of a circumferential row, thereby accomplishingthe advantages above set forth.

A further purpose of my invention is the provision of a sheep foottamper embodying a base for welding to the roller, a foot, a connectionbetween the foot and base by which the two have detachable telescopicwedge engagement with each other, and means embodied in the connectionby which the foot is alined on the base.

I will describe only two forms of sheep foot tampers each embodying myinvention and will then 'point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view showing in side elevation one form of sheep foot tamperembodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.V

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing in end elevation a tamping rollerhaving applied thereto sheep foot tampers of the form shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view showing in side elevation'another form of sheep foottamper embodying my invention. I

Referring specifically to the drawing in which similar referencecharacters refer to similar parts in each of the several views, andparticularly to the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4,inclusive, the tamper embodies a shank element and a demountable footelement generally indicated at S and F, respectively. The shank elementS is formed of cast steel so that by a weld joint it may be readily andrigidly fixed on the periphery of a cylindrical metallic roller R asillustrated in Fig. 4. The foot element F is likewise formed of caststeel but sufiiciently hardened to render it resistant to abrasive wear.

The shank element S is shown as comprising an elongated body II] on oneend of which is an integral shank I I having a taper of relatively lowpitch. The large end of the shank II is of less diameter than theconfronting end of the body ill to form at the junction of the two anannular shoulder l2. At that end of the body I0 remote from the shank isa base [3 integral therewith and having a bearing surface 14 which isconcave to conform to the curvature of the periphery of the roller R towhich it is adapted to be welded. As illustrated, the base l3 extends atits ends the same distance from the body l0 and hence may be secured tothe roller R without regard to which end is foremost in respect to thecircumference of the roller.

The shank |I,in addition to being tapered as described, is formed atdiametrically opposed points with grooves or indentations l5, l5. Thesegrooves extend from the free end of the shank inwardly and may terminatein inclinedgshoulders H5 at points spaced fromthe shoulder l2. It isimportant to note that the grooves increase in depth from the free endof the shank inwardly in such manner that they are straight from end toend and therefore parallel to the major axis of the shank.

The foot element F embodies a collar I! the inner periphery of which istapered to conform to the taper of the shank l I so that when the latteris extended into the collar it will have wedged frictional engagementtherewith. The foot element also embodies a foot l8 formed integral withthe collar I! and having a tread portion [9 of arcuate form. Thecurvature of the tread portion I9 is such that with the foot elementmounted on the shank element and the latter secured to the roller R,such tread portion will extend in the direction of the circumferentiallength of the roller and concentric of the roller axis.

The tread portion l 9 may terminate at its rear end in a heel 20 and atits forward end in a toe 2|. As shown, the heel 20 and the toe 21 arerounded in continuation of the tread portion 19 so as to impart to theend faces of the foot a continuous curvature. Thus, on rotating theroller R the tread will be brought into and out of contact with. thesurface being tamped with only a minimum disturbance of the ground orother inaterial being tam'ped.

To cause the root of each tam er to function as described, it isnecessary that the foot element be alined on the shank II, with the heel20 forwardrnost and the toe 2| rearwardm-o'staboutthe periphery of theroller. To facilitate and insure such'alinement theaforedescr-ibedgrooves l are provided on the shank H and tongues 22,;22on the inner periphery of the collar ll. These tongues 22 likewise areformed at diametrically opposed points on the inner side of the collarH. Furthermore, they increase in thickness from their inner endsoutwardly to correspond to the increase in depth of the grooves I5. Bythisconstruction of grooves and tongues the latter have slidinginterfitting engagement with the grooves for initially fixing thecircumferential position of the collar on the shank. The inner ends ofthe tongues terminate in shoulders 23, which, in the inner extremeportion of the collar on the shank, may abut the shoulders P6 of thegrooves. As shown, the tongues and grooves are formed on the sideportions of the collar and shank but obviously they may bedisposed at"any other point,

about the periphery of the two. v v V In practice, the shank elements Sof a multiplicity of the tampers are welded at their bases to the outerperiphery of the roller R so as to project radially therefrom andpreferably in rows extending circumferentially and longitudinally aboutthe roller. To each shank element S is applied a foot element F byplacing the collar I! on the shank I 1 and then turning the collar untilthe tongues 22 register with the grooves 15, when the collar can be slidinwardly on the shank to a point where the tapered walls of the collarand shank have frictional contact one with the other. By now driving thecollar on the shank the two are caused to have such tight wedgedengagement with each other as to lock the foot element on the shankelement against any possibility of accidental displacement of the foot"element during rotation of the roller. Should it be necessary to removeand replace any one of the foot elements, it can be readily detached bydriving it outwardly lengthwise of the shank to free it therefrom. A newfoot can now be quickly applied and properly positioned on the shankthrough the alining action of the tongues and grooves.

Referring now to Fig. 5, I have here shown another form of sheep foottamper embodying a complete reversal of the parts comprising the tampershown in Fig. 1. Such reversal consists in forming the base I 3 with aninteriorly tapered collar l1, and the foot l8 with a tapered shank IlSimilarly, the collar Il is formed with tongues 22 and the shank withgrooves l5 in which the tongues are received to aline the foot I 8 onthe collar-Il The purpose of this reversed arrangement of parts is toavoid forming all parts of the tamper of cast steel as in the first formof my invention. With the reversed arrangement it is likewise necessaryto form the base I3 and the collar ll of cast steel to permit welding ofthe base to the roller. However, the foot I8 the integral body Ill andthe shank ll may all be formed of cast iron Without the liability of theiron shank being broken during use on the roller. is avoided by reasonof the fact that the tapered iron shank, being as it is,telescoped'within the steel collar, is compressed by the collar tostrengthen the shank rather than weaken it.

Although I have herein shown and described grooves and tongues as themeans embodied in the 'telescop'ed interconnection of the foot and baseof either tamper for alining the foot and collar on the shank or theroota'nn shank on the collar, it is to be understood that other aliningmeans may be employed without' depar'ting from the spirit and scope ofmy invention 'so long as such alining means permits of the tight taperedengagement of the shank and collar to secure the shank within the collaragainst accidental uncoupling.

I claim: 7

1. A sheep foot tam er, comprising "a fnetal base, a collaron the basehaving an internal taper, tongues on the inner periphery ofsaid collarextending lengthwise thereof, a metallic foot havinga shank tapered-atits outer end "to conform to the internaltaper of said collar, saidshank having grooves lengthwise therein to 'sl idably' receive saidtongues.

2. In a sheep foot tamper; a base and a foot; a tapered shank memberformedon said base, and a collar member formed on said foot-and taper-edinternally to have detachable telescopic wedge engagement "with saidshank member; and coacting means on said members for aiming said foot onsaid base, said means having spaced surfaces longitudinally and inparallelism with the major axis of said members, so that the shankmember can be telescoped'into and frictionally locked in the "collarmember only when the foot is alined on the base.

3. In a sheep foot tamper; a base and a foot; a tapered shank memberformed on said base, and a collar member formed on said foot and taperedinternally to have detachable telescopic wedge engagement with saidshank member; and coacting means on 'said members for alining said footon said base, said means comprising a pinrality of spaced longitudinaltongues on one oi said members, and said other member having a pluralityof cooperating spaced longitudinal grooves therein.

JOHN -J. LO'W.

Such liability

